s skippy the bush kangaroo: everywhere we look we see bs

skippy the bush kangaroo



Monday, September 17, 2007

everywhere we look we see bs

of course most of you have followed the story (specifically on fdl and c&l) of emailers getting very snippy answers to their comments to cbs news that katie couric was rather lame in her recent trip to iraq.

but the story now goes past the "puff piece" into legitimate news, as cbs threatens an online reporter with legal ramifications if he pursues one line of questioning. jason lee miller writing at webpronews:

when asked about the comments in the email, cbs evening news communications manager jennifer farley (couric's publicist) said, "it's very easy to make it look like it came from us," and would not confirm that the email came from cbs news, despite the email address.

i understood the comment, "it's very easy to make it look like it came from us," as well as other comments she made as a denial that cbs sent the email, and so, out of professional courtesy, not out of any type of journalistic requirement, i contacted ms. farley the next day (before i wrote the 300-word ironic puff-piece) to confirm cbs's position.

i did it politely, because i'm from the south, thanked her for her time and wished her a nice day. my understanding: cbs denies sending the email, cannot confirm that it came from there.

a few minutes later, ms. farley, by telephone, insists that everything that was said yesterday was off the record, that cbs didn't even have a "no comment" because there was nothing to comment on, and if i printed that i could expect to hear from cbs's legal department. very suddenly, then, she has turned my puff piece into a major story about a major network trying to bully a web-publication with the threat of a slapp suit. and i am stunned by how she has transformed something routine into something newsworthy.

i'm also aware (because she told me) that ms. farley graduated top of her class from columbia journalism school, and was quite willing to let me know how much i had to learn about journalism, but she should be at least vaguely familiar with the first amendment, and that a source can't just give information and say it's "off the record" with any type of viable legal grounds. it's a professional courtesy, not a legal mandate, and that courtesy sort of flies out the window when lawsuits are threatened.

but enough about me and ms. farley. let's get back to the email.

moveon traced the ip address of the email addressed from evening@cbsnews.com, the one that would be very easy to make look like came from cbs to 170.20.0.80, which resolves to a mail server at cbs inc., 524 west 57th street, new york, ny 10019.

adam green, civics communications director for moveon.org, says, "it's a real problem when big media corporations like cbs refuse to ask tough questions challenging president bush's lies about iraq, yet feel fine threatening little-guy online news sites for daring to hold cbs accountable."

yeah, well, we're not that little. we can hold our own. and though the new york times mistakenly called me a blogger, i didn’t take any offense, just appreciated the name drop, and that at least some part of the established media recognizes the power of citizen journalism, and that the new media has the right – and ability – to stand up to the old media.
too bad cbs doesn't have the balls to stand up to awol like that...

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posted by skippy at 10:07 PM |

5 Comments:

I've said it before, a Couricature of what news is supposed to be. I almost pity her at this point.

Do you ever wonder if the MSM will ever wake up one day with a vague memory of someone at the Grand Old Party handing them a glass just before everything went black and a soreness in intimate places? Or if having done something in a moment of lust wake up to regret what happened and form the idea that maybe they should cry rape?
commented by Anonymous sean on li, 12:34 AM PDT  
well, skippy....if it were not for Blogs- we would be So Uninformed at this point in time....I mean we all know that the "Internets" and the "Youtube Thing" were what changed the 2006 Election...and you are More than revelant.....Katie had a chance to go be a REAL reporter- who is to blame for her Koolaid Performance ? I don't know...but CBS should take responsibilty- they sent her...and also if they have been sending out letters- it is is very easy- they just have to learn to say they are sorry...Shame on the Media Blackout in this Country...the founding fathers are indeed rolling in their graves...
commented by Blogger enigma4ever, 3:50 AM PDT  
He forgot to check the kerning on the email! CBS loves stories about kerning. Especially if they help the Bush junta.
commented by Blogger George, 6:25 AM PDT  
My wife and I are in our 30's and make a combined income over $150k a year. The neworks WANT us. But guess what? We don't watch. Instead of putting out the kind of "news" they do, and insulting new media, the MSM should probably start to ask themselves why people like us don't watch. Ever.
commented by Anonymous Anonymous, 10:25 AM PDT  
Anonomous, sorry to say, they only want you. Your wife makes no impact on them at all. They only count males between the ages of 25 and 50.

(I was a communications major, and interned at a couple of stations)
commented by Blogger SB Gypsy, 1:34 PM PDT  

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